williams



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. N. S..WILLIAMS.

WATER PRESSURE ENGINE.

N0. 321,559. Patented July 7, 1885.

FIG. 1*

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(No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 2. J. N. S. WILLIAMS.

WATER PRESSURE ENGINE. No. 321,559. Patented July 7, 1885.

FIG. 3

UNITED h'rarns Parent Orrice.

JOHN N. S. \VILLIAMS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

WATER-PRESSURE ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 321,559, dated July 7, 1885.

Application filed December 9, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J onn N. S. WrLLrAMs, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have invented an Improvement in ater-Pressure Engines; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to a new and useful water-pressure engine; and it consists in two or more cylinders having pistons, two or more series of valves for admitting and exhausting the liquid, a connection between said valves and cylinders, and a mechanism by which the piston of one cylinder operates the valves con nected with and operating the piston of the other cylinder.

It consists, further, in the construction of the valve-chests and in the series of inclined planes by which the valves are operated, said inclined planes being arranged upon sliding bars connected with the pistons in such amanner that when the pressure-valve is open the exhaust-valve is shut, and vice versa, and in certain details of construction and arrangement, all of which I shall hereinafter fully explain.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and effective water-pressure engine.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my engine. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section of same. Fig. 3 is a plan view.

A A are two cylinders, and B B their respective pistons, of which C C are the rods, one end of which is to connect with suitable power transmitting devices, and the other end is to operate the valves, as I shall describe.

G G G2 G are four valvechcsts, in each of which are corresponding valves, which, for the sake of conforming to the sectional drawing of Fig. 2, I shall designate by similar letters. The upper valve, H, is the pressure or entrance valve, and the lower one, I, is the exhaust-valve. These valves are ordinary upwardlybpening disks influenced by springs h e, as shown, which hold them to their seats. The valve H has a downwardly -extending stem, it, which passes through the annular or hollow stem 7) of valve I, and emerges through a striding-box at the bottom, and

both stems project through the bottom of the valvechest.

Upon the rear ends of the piston-rods C C are travelers cl cl, which are mounted in suitable guidcs on a bed, and are adapted to receive a rectilinear reciprocating movement. These travelers carry on their tops bars D D, on which are arranged the inclined planes I shall now describe.

On the inner end of the bar D near one edge is the inclined plane E, consisting of a strip, one end of which is beveled at e, and the remaining portion is straight, as shown in Fig. 2. This inclined plane is in line with and is adapted to pass under the lower end of stem h of the inlet-valve H of the chest G, and thereby to raise and hold said valve in that position. On the other end of the bar D, but on the sameside, is the double inclined plane F, consisting of two separated strips, which are adapted to pass on either side of the said stem h, and to bear under the lower end of stem 2" of exhaust-valve I of chest G, whereby said valve is raised and held up without interfering with valve H. Upon the same bar D, but in diagonally-opposite or reverser positions, are the inclined planes EF, (the latter being a double one,) which are adapted to operate, respectively, the valves H I of the chest G, in the manner Ihave described.

Upon the bar D, and occupying the same relative positions thereon, as the inclined planes already described, are the inclined planes E F F (two of which are double, which are adapted to operate the valves H I of the chests G2 G in the manner heretofore described. It will be seen that in each of the valve-chests the valves H I divide them into three distinct compartments, which are desig nated, beginning with the uppermost, by the letters as a Into compartments open the inlet or pressure pipes K, which communicate with the source of water-supply under head or pressure. From the middle compartments as open out the cylinder-pipes J J J J The pipe J connects the chest G with the back end of cylinder A; the pipe J connects the chest G with the front end of said cylinder; the pipe J connects chest (-1- with the front end of cylinder A, and the pipe J connects chest G with the back end of said cylinder. There is .center of its stroke.

thus a cross and a reverse connection between the sets of chests and cylinders.

Opening out of the lowermost compartment of each of the valve-chests are the exhaustpipes L, which communicate with any suitable discharge tank, reservoir, or sump.

The operation of the engine is as follows: Referring to the drawings, the piston of cylinder A is in the center of its stroke and traveling in the direction of the arrows. It will be seen that the inclined plane E, operating valve H of chest G, is at this instant raising said valve, thereby letting the fiuid under pressure into the back end of cylinder A, the

piston of which immediately starts on its way,

the piston of A meanwhile continuing its course toward the end of its stroke, which it reaches just as the piston of A reaches the By again referring to the drawings it will be plain that when piston of A is at the center its sliding bar D, with inclined plane E lifts valve H in chest G letting pressure-water into front end of cylinder A; but at the same time that this occurs (or preferably a little before) the double inclined plane 13 of bar D has raised the exhaust-valve I of chest G thereby opening a passage-way for the liquid from the rear end of cylinder A; and as there is a free exit for same, the pressure which now exists in the front end of said cylinder overcomes and drives out the water contained in its rear end. It has been established now that the piston in cylinder A is traveling in a direction contrary to the arrow and continues on to the center of its stroke when piston in A has reached the front end of its stroke 5 then the inclined plane E of sliding bar D, attached to piston of A, lifts in its turn the pressure-valve H of chest G and admits fluid to the front end of cylinder A; at the same time (or a little before) the exhaust-valve I in chest G has been opened by the double inclined plane F for the exit of the liquid from rear end of cylinder A. Then, as has been stated, the pressure in the front end of said cylinder overcomes that in the rear end and piston starts on its backward stroke and reaches the center at the same time as the piston in A reaches the end of its stroke; then the piston of A opens by means of the inclined planes E 13, the pressure-valve H in chest G and the exhaust-valve I in chest G and the piston in A at once commences its forward stroke, reaching its central position. One complete stroke has now been made with each cylinder, and

the engine is in position ready for going on. It only remains to supply water sufficient and of the requisite pressure to keep the engine running as long as it will hold together. This style of valve-gear is cheap and simple, doing away with the costly system of hydraulicrams and the complicated piping necessary on the single-acting water-pressure engines that are in use. Further, the motions of the pistons being,as it were, at right angles to each other, the motion derived from them is steady and uniform to a degree not attained in any other construction.

In mines the object of this engine is to do away with the cumbrous spear-rod and substitute a column of water, thereby effecting a marked improvement in economy of working and repairs, and also cheapening the construction of such works. In its application to such pumping machinery, the discharge-column of water being in constant motion, the heavy shocks due to the water-column coming to rest and being set in motion again, as in the ordinary systems of pumping, are entirely done away with, and thus allowing the constructor to make his pipes of less strong material, there being no liability to fracture, owing to the steady motion in the discharge-column.

The valves may be plain disks with springs, as here shown, or they may be slide, rotary, or puppet valves, as may bev most convenient in practice, and the mode of lifting the valves may be either by inclined planes, as shown, or by a combination of jointed levers, or by cams rotated by the most convenient way, as may be found best. Eccentrics may possibly be used.

The whole construction of the engine is novel and useful, more especially when applied to pumps that require to be placed underground, as in mines and other industrial works of a similar nature. It may also be applied to winding engines, ventilating fans, and all purposes requiring the conversion of rectilinear into circular motion.

.Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a water-pressure engine, avalve-ohest having the inlet-valve H, spring h, and stem h, in combination with the exhaust or outlet valve I, spring a, and annular or hollow stem i,through which the stem h passes, both stems projecting through the chest, substantially as herein described.

2. In a water-pressure engine, one or more valve-chests, having valves H I, with concentrio and independent stems h i, as described, and projecting through the chests, in combination with the single and double inclined planes connected with the piston or pistons of the engine, and having a rectilinear reciprocating movement under said stems, whereby they are independently raised and relieved to operate their valves, substantially as herein described.

3. In a water-pressure engine, the cylinders A A, having pistons B B, with rods 0 O, and the valve-chests G G G G having each an inlet or pressure valve and an outlet or exhaust valve, a pressure-pipe, and an exhaustpipe, in combination with the cross-pipesJ J J 2 J connecting said chests with the ends of the cylinders, and suitable sliding bars and inclined planes by which the piston of one cylinder operates the valves {connecting with and operating the piston of the other cylinder, substantially as herein described.

ICO

4. In a waterpressure engine, the cylinders A A, having pistons B B, with rods 0 G, the valve-chests G G G G each having the inlet or pressure valve H an d; the outlet or exhaust valve I, said valves having concentric independent steins h z", projecting through the chest, a pressure-pipe, K, and an exhaustpipe, L, communicating with said chests, in combination with the cross-pipes J J J J connecting said chests with the ends of the cylinders, and the mechanism by which the piston of one cylinder operates the valves connecting with and operating the piston of the Witnesses:

Enwn. OHATTIN, G130. T. KNOX. 

